It had been a last-minute call, to pick out an engagement ring, but now that I am holding it in my hand, I know that I have to give it to her. I wasn’t kidding when I told her last night that I wanted to marry her. I know that it must seem crazy to pretty much everyone else, but I am done worrying what they have to say about it.
I want to be with her, and that is all that matters.
That is all that has ever mattered to me.
After everything that I have been through, I know better than to rely on there being another time, another chance to say what needs to be said. Sometimes, you just have to take the dive, be willing to throw yourself into something that you know that you want.
And besides, when I look at this ring, at the way the diamond shimmers in the soft light of the morning pouring through the window, I know that I am not going to be happy until it rests on her finger, once and for all. She is mine. I am hers. And that is what this ring symbolizes, more than anything else. Our connection, our love for each other. And the fact that it has survived all these years, even apart.
I don’t want to wake her too soon. I know that we have a lot to talk about, but I am in no rush to get there. If she is really willing to do this – if she is really willing to give me the time that I need to explain myself, to assure her that I have nothing to do with the world that I left behind – then I don’t want to pull her out of her peaceful slumber.
I can’t help but wonder about everything that she has been through since the last time we laid eyes on each other. I know that she has lost her parents, and it aches in my heart to know that I wasn’t able to be there for her in that painful time. I know all too well how it feels to lose the people that are supposed to be there for you for the rest of your life, and I hate that she has had to understand it, too.
But, like me, it has given her an urgency in life that she may not have had otherwise.
We have wasted enough time apart from each other as it is, and I am not willing to let another second tick by without making sure that she stays by my side. All those adventures that we promised each other when we first fell in love – there is still more than enough time to live those out. And I don’t want to share them with anyone other than Bailey.
Slowly, her eyes flicker open, and she furrows her brow as she peels herself up from the pillow – and then, as soon as she sees me, she smiles.
"So that really did all happen last night, it wasn’t all a dream?" she asks. Her voice is a little throaty from sleep, her face creased from the pillow, but she still looks so gorgeous to me that I can’t take my eyes off of her.
"I guess it did," I agree, and I come to sit on the bed with her. The box is in my hand, and I know that it’s only going to be a matter of moments until the ring is on her finger. Maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself, but I am sure that she is going to accept. I know that last night’s comment about getting married wasn’t a fleeting fancy. It was the beginning of our forever – but it is time to make it official. After everything that we have been through, there is no way that she’s going to pass up this chance.
"I have something that I need to ask you," I tell her, and I take her hand and pull it towards me. Opening her palm, I place the box inside of it, and she stares at it for a moment as though she can’t for the life of her work out what it is meant to be.
"Baxter...?” she murmurs.
"Open it," I tell her. And she does as she is told, a smile curling up the corners of her mouth as she flicks open the box. And when she sees what is inside, her lips part with shock.
"Is this...?” she asks me, looking up at me with abject surprise on her face. I nod.
"Yeah, it is," I reply. "I meant it when I told you that I wanted to marry you, Bailey. I know that I should have given this to you on prom night, but – but I’m not going to pass up the chance to give it to you now."